My family just returned from our second cruise on the Disney Magic (which was also our second cruise period). Once again DCL and the Magic did not disappoint. We cruised on the Feb 8, 2017 4-night Bahamian cruise out of Miami (Miami, Castaway Cay, Day at Sea, Key West, Miami).
For point of reference we are two 50 yo parents, DS 12, DD 12, and DD 9.
Best way for me to review the cruise is probably to compare it with our previous 2015 7-day Western Caribbean Cruise – also on the Magic.
Three main differences between the 2 cruises:
1) This cruise left out of Miami, versus Port Canaveral
2) Shorter cruise – 4 nights versus 7 nights
3) This cruise was NOT during a school break, while our first cruise was during an April spring break week
We enjoyed leaving out of Miami. Really nice views on the sail-away out of port. And we had the chance to experience a little bit of Miami pre-and post cruise. Our first cruise, being out of PC, gave us a chance to visit WDW too so that was also a good experience. Just enjoyed this departure port as an alternative.
As far as the 4 nights go – we were worried it would feel “too short” but it really didn’t. We purposely picked an itinerary that had a full day-at-sea; as from our previous cruise experience, sea days give you the best chance to really enjoy all that the ship has to offer. The Magic is beautiful, there is a lot to do, and you pay a premium to be on DCL’s beautiful ships.
We were (just a little) worried that cruising during a non-school break might be less fun for our tween-age kids. Yes, the cruise guests were predominantly families with younger kids. Even though there were way less kids my kids’ ages (versus our previous cruise) it did not impact our enjoyment. My son who loves basketball still met up with plenty of older kids up on the sports deck. And my daughters hung either together or with my husband and myself which is what they enjoy anyway. As this was a family vacation, that worked just fine! Plus my kids were old enough to be pretty independent on the ship, so my DH and I still were able to enjoy time in the adult Quiet Cove.
Our servers in the main dining rooms were excellent. So much so that all three of my kids even said that dinner was their favorite part of the cruise. Our servers engaged us all with questions/conversation about our day, entertained with magic tricks, and made all of us feel welcome and special every evening. They were genuinely gracious and kind, customer service-oriented, and entertaining every single evening. Our server was Greenidge Machado and Assistant Server was Francesca Hopcraft. They really made our trip special. Our head server was Aziz Karayel; while we had less interaction with him, we know that his job was making sure Greendidge and Francesca had the support to do their job well.
Also our stateroom steward Pa Sinumorm was fantastic. If she was in the hallway when we passed her, she made a point to stop, address us by name, and ask if there was anything we needed. Our cabin was set up perfectly every single time we came back to it.
Finally, shout out to our travel agency Dream Makers Vacation Services and our agent (and owner) Mike McHugh. He made everything smooth since day one of planning – patiently giving us details on alternate itineraries when we were unsure of what cruise we would take. Also, we had a family illness that almost caused us to cancel this cruise. Mike helped us navigate the details of our insurance (that we had thankfully bought – would totally recommend), and helped us understand our options. In the end we didn’t need to cancel but were happy to have Mike’s advice along the way. This is our second time using this agent, and we would definitely book again through Dream Makers Vacation Services again.
One final comment – the two evening shows we loved were Tangled and Dreams. We had seen Dreams before and it’s a favorite. Tangled was new for us and was really well done.
Any questions please PM me.
For point of reference we are two 50 yo parents, DS 12, DD 12, and DD 9.
Best way for me to review the cruise is probably to compare it with our previous 2015 7-day Western Caribbean Cruise – also on the Magic.
Three main differences between the 2 cruises:
1) This cruise left out of Miami, versus Port Canaveral
2) Shorter cruise – 4 nights versus 7 nights
3) This cruise was NOT during a school break, while our first cruise was during an April spring break week
We enjoyed leaving out of Miami. Really nice views on the sail-away out of port. And we had the chance to experience a little bit of Miami pre-and post cruise. Our first cruise, being out of PC, gave us a chance to visit WDW too so that was also a good experience. Just enjoyed this departure port as an alternative.
As far as the 4 nights go – we were worried it would feel “too short” but it really didn’t. We purposely picked an itinerary that had a full day-at-sea; as from our previous cruise experience, sea days give you the best chance to really enjoy all that the ship has to offer. The Magic is beautiful, there is a lot to do, and you pay a premium to be on DCL’s beautiful ships.
We were (just a little) worried that cruising during a non-school break might be less fun for our tween-age kids. Yes, the cruise guests were predominantly families with younger kids. Even though there were way less kids my kids’ ages (versus our previous cruise) it did not impact our enjoyment. My son who loves basketball still met up with plenty of older kids up on the sports deck. And my daughters hung either together or with my husband and myself which is what they enjoy anyway. As this was a family vacation, that worked just fine! Plus my kids were old enough to be pretty independent on the ship, so my DH and I still were able to enjoy time in the adult Quiet Cove.
Our servers in the main dining rooms were excellent. So much so that all three of my kids even said that dinner was their favorite part of the cruise. Our servers engaged us all with questions/conversation about our day, entertained with magic tricks, and made all of us feel welcome and special every evening. They were genuinely gracious and kind, customer service-oriented, and entertaining every single evening. Our server was Greenidge Machado and Assistant Server was Francesca Hopcraft. They really made our trip special. Our head server was Aziz Karayel; while we had less interaction with him, we know that his job was making sure Greendidge and Francesca had the support to do their job well.
Also our stateroom steward Pa Sinumorm was fantastic. If she was in the hallway when we passed her, she made a point to stop, address us by name, and ask if there was anything we needed. Our cabin was set up perfectly every single time we came back to it.
Finally, shout out to our travel agency Dream Makers Vacation Services and our agent (and owner) Mike McHugh. He made everything smooth since day one of planning – patiently giving us details on alternate itineraries when we were unsure of what cruise we would take. Also, we had a family illness that almost caused us to cancel this cruise. Mike helped us navigate the details of our insurance (that we had thankfully bought – would totally recommend), and helped us understand our options. In the end we didn’t need to cancel but were happy to have Mike’s advice along the way. This is our second time using this agent, and we would definitely book again through Dream Makers Vacation Services again.
One final comment – the two evening shows we loved were Tangled and Dreams. We had seen Dreams before and it’s a favorite. Tangled was new for us and was really well done.
Any questions please PM me.
